Made in the early 1960s, Fisher Price’s Picture Story Camera was the first “camera” owned by many photo-enthusiasts. They’re built out of paper-covered wood and plastic, and contained a tiny disc with eight different “photographs” that could be seen by looking through the viewfinder — similar to the View-Master, except not in 3D. To change the photo, you simply hold down the shutter and turn the “flash”, a yellow block with pictures representing the four seasons.
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Using Lego pieces, Flickr user and Lego fan Larry Lars created an uber-accurate miniature version of his home photo studio. Maybe this could be a new method of creating lighting diagrams?
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If you want your kids to grow up with the same love of photography you have, you can try performing some “inception” giving them photography-related toys from a young age. “Zoom” is a camera windup toy by Z Wind Ups that waddles around, looking at things with a magnifying glass.

With a big lens housing his clear camera eye, Zoom should be able to pick up the spots on Lanie the Ladybug’s back from several feet away. Unfortunately, Zoom is missing just that–the zoom button that the factory seems to have forgotten to install! No worries, though, because that magnifying glass works just fine [...]

You can buy one for $5 over on Z Wind Ups.

Zoom (via Chip Chick)

Ordinary DSLR cameras too big and bulky for you? Check out the CHOBi CAM ONE, a DSLR-style toy camera the size of an eraser that actually has lenses you can swap in and out. It shoots 1600×1200 still photos and VGA video at 30 frames per second.
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If you’re looking to get your kid hooked on photography from an early age, giving them this Voltron Star Shooter toy might be a good place to start. Made in 1985, it starts out as an innocent looking SLR camera but transforms into a beastly Voltron action figure. The best part of it is that it’s actually a working 110 camera, even though the big SLR lens on the front is fake (the real lens is above it). This brings new and awesome meaning to the term “toy camera”.

Image credit: Voltron Star Shooter by John Kratz

Toymaker Kid Robot has a line of DIY toys called MUNNYs. They’re pretty much cute humanoid-looking blobs that can be drawn, painted, and customized.

There are a couple of fun Flickr groups dedicated to these decorated darlings. We found some gems that deserve some love and attention–photographing a MUNNY can get a little funny. It’s like photographing artwork, a product, and an environmental portrait, all in one!

Here are some of our faves:

CMYK Munny Series by Connor Keller | fourtysixtyphoto.com

A clever nod to color modes, this CMYK Munny is simple but vibrantly sweet.

Gorilla Munny by Aiden O’Sullivan

Flickr photog Aiden O’Sullivan captured this fierce Gorilla Munny in his natural environment.

Munny Calavera by Kitt Walker

We’ve never seen such a suave skeleton. This Munny was inspired by the Grim Fandango PC game character, Munny Calavera.

Custom “Brain” Mini Munny by Aidan O’Sullivan

Munny AND brains, you say? This Munny is a little creepy, and brings to mind (haha) Syler from Heroes. Or Hannibal Lecter. In either case, weird, but kind of rad.

Munnys by benwatts

A Tron Munny! With better special effects than the early 1980s!

Munnys by benwatts

Here’s another Munny by Flickr Munny maker benwatts. It’s reminiscent of the Borg from Star Trek, but a bit more organic. It’s almost as if he raided both my grandma’s couches for that fabric. We like how he has a Minolta lens as an eye. He must have a photographic memory.

TK-22 Makes a New Friend by chanchan222

Domo-kun Munny and his pal meet Star Wars — it’s like a collision of fandom imagination.

Munny by Derek Purdy

This Munny looks like a guy who can take care of himself. Though he’s only adorned with a classy fedora, this Munny photo has a film noir ambiance.

week_04_03 by O*GE InteractiveGallery – Gaston

Here’s a monster Munny  that looks like the abominable snowman, but less abominable. I mean, look at that wittle paws and those itty bitty teeth!

MU001 by De Tuesday

This Rorschach Munny is based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel, Watchmen. While he’s not the cutest of the bunch, he definitely captures the raw, nihilistic spirit of the character!

Blu Spy Munny by Dan Diemer

Based off the video game, Team Fortress 2, this spy Munny is dressed to kill.

To see more, check out these Munny Flickr pools:

• Custom Munny Gallery
• Custom Vinyl Toys
• Munny Club
• The Munny Shot
• Kid Robot